Graduation
Celebration, a free community festival featuring fireworks and remarks
by actor,
producer, and political activist Kal Penn, highlights Commencement weekend at
7:30 p.m. Friday, May 10, at the Levitt Pavilion in downtown Arlington, 100 W. Abram St.

Graduates, their families and friends, and supporters are encouraged to attend along with faculty, staff, and alumni.

The University’s outdoor, end-of-the-year celebration is free and open to the
public. Also on the Friday evening program are President James D.
Spaniolo and Rene Grimes, a graduate student from the College of
Education and Health Professions, who will speak on behalf of the Class
of 2013.

Penn, 35, is well known for his starring roles in House, 24, and the popular Harold and Kumar
movie series. He stopped his acting career midstream to work
full time in politics. In 2009 he joined the Obama administration as an
associate director in the White House Office of Public Engagement,
where he focused on work related to increasing financial aid for college
students and other related initiatives.

In case of inclement weather, Graduation Celebration moves to College Park Center.

Class of '13 is largest in UT Arlington history

UT Arlington will confer more than 4,500 degrees this spring, a 14 percent increase compared with the spring 2012 semester, during Commencement Week 2013.

A schedule of Commencement Week activities is available online. Commencement ceremonies are Saturday-Sunday, May 11-12, at College Park Center.

Spring 'UTArlington Magazine' highlights national security research

Incredibly sensitive nanotech sensors fly about in drones,
are implanted in high-traffic bridges, and journey aboard robots into
environments no humans could survive.

The spring 2013 issue of UTArlington
Magazine details these futuristic national security measures in its cover
story about a new research center aimed at protecting the country using
nanotechnology innovations.

You’ll also find an article about how the University has helped
transform downtown Arlington into a hot spot for eclectic dining, live music,
and vibrant nightlife. Other stories examine researchers’ efforts to tame North
Texas traffic and profile alumni whose UT Arlington degrees prepared them to
successfully switch careers.

Every article includes a link for posting comments. You also
can “like” the magazine’s Facebook page
and get updates in your newsfeed.

UTArlington Magazine
is published three times a year and distributed to about 150,000 UT Arlington
constituents, including all alumni, major donors, elected officials, civic
leaders, faculty, senior staff, and other friends of the University.

Maverick Stadium site of WAC track and field championships this week

­The 2013 Western Athletic Conference Outdoor Track and Field Championships play out at Maverick Stadium starting Wednesday, May 8.

"We are tremendously honored to be hosting the WAC Championships," says John Sauerhage, UT Arlington head track coach. "Our department has put a lot of effort into the planning of this event, and our student-athletes are extremely excited to be able to compete for a championship right in our backyard. It will be a fun week for all of us."

The Mavericks have numerous top contenders in various competitions.

Admission is free to the multi-events on Wednesday and Thursday. Competition begins at 10 a.m. each day and will end in the mid-afternoon both days.

All-session Friday and Saturday tickets are $20 for adults and $12 for seniors (65 and older) and youth (18 and under). Single-day (Friday or Saturday) tickets are $12 for adults and $8 for seniors and youth. Students at WAC colleges are free with a current student ID.

On Friday, the first field event begins at 11 a.m., while the running events start at 4 p.m. Saturday's field competitions also kick off at 11 a.m., while the finals of the running events are slated to begin at 5 p.m.

Swagger advocate

Fonzworth Bentley, aka Derek Watkins, spoke on "Advance Your Swagger" at the inaugural conference for the Center for African American Studies on Thursday in the Rosebud Theatre of the E.H. Hereford University Center. The conference focused on "Critical Issues in Black Studies: Race in Context." Bentley, an author and artist, encouraged students to aim for achievement and success.

North bridge elevators out for summer

Elevators for the north bridge over Cooper Street will be out of service Monday, May 13-Aug. 5, for an upgrade. The elevators on the south bridge will be accessible during this time.

Steam outage planned May 13-15

The Thermal Energy Plant will shut down steam service to the campus Monday-Wednesday, May 13-15, to complete annual inspection and repairs.

Buildings
served by the plant will be without hot water and steam during that
time but will still have electrical power, air conditioning, and cold
water service.

For
information on buildings or equipment affected by the outage, contact
Nick Schroeder in the Office of Facilities Management at nschroeder@uta.edu or 2-9075.

Enjoy Texas Rangers games with special discounted tickets

UT Arlington faculty, staff, and alumni can enjoy selected Texas Rangers games with discounted tickets. Visit texasrangers.com/grouptickets, click on University of Texas at Arlington, and use the password MAVS13 to get your discounted tickets.

Power upgrade set for ERB network

The Office of Information Technology will install a new component in the power system for the Engineering Research Building that will interrupt the network in the ERB and the Wade Building from 6 p.m. Friday, May 24, until 2 a.m. Saturday, May 25.

The network outage will impact only these two locations. Power systems for the rest of the buildings are not affected. Services housed in the Arlington Regional Data Center and network services for the rest of the campus will not be affected.

Upgrades available for Apple OS 10.6

OIT is offering upgrades to Apple computers running an operating system (OS) lower than 10.8 in order to prepare for ending our local support of Apple OS versions 10.6 or lower.
The goal is to upgrade all Apple OS 10.6 or less computers by January 2014 to ensure the highest level of security. Contact helpdesk@uta.edu to schedule your upgrade.

Drug Free Schools and Communities Act Notification

UT
Arlington seeks to provide its faculty, staff, and students with a
drug-free environment. In accordance with the Drug Free Schools and
Communities Act, the University is required to notify faculty, staff,
and students each semester about:

Tuesday, May 7

Underexposed Film Festival The Student Film/Video Organization presents short films produced by
students in the past year. The works will showcase production skills
through various film genres such as narrative, documentary, and
animation. Tickets $5 one night, $7 both. 7-10 p.m.; also Wednesday, May 8; The Modern Art Museum of Fort Worth, 3200 Darnell St., Fort Worth. Art and Art History.

Wednesday, May 8

WAC Outdoor Track and Field Championships Mavericks host men’s and women’s teams from the Western Athletic
Conference. Free Wednesday and Thursday. $12 Friday and Saturday or $20 for all
sessions. 10 a.m.-9 p.m., through Saturday,
May 11, Maverick Stadium. Western Athletic Conference.

Coming up

WAC Baseball Tournament Top eight teams from the Western Athletic Conference compete
for an NCAA Tournament berth. $12 each day or $30 for tournament pass. Games at
11 a.m., 3 p.m., and 7 p.m., Wednesday-Saturday,
May 22-25, championship 1 p.m. Sunday,
May 26, QuikTrip Park, Grand Prairie. Western Athletic Conference.

Ongoing

Bachelor of Fine Arts Exhibition Recent work created by graduating seniors of the Department of Art and Art History is showcased in a variety of media including painting, drawing, sculpture, ceramics, glass, printmaking, film/video, photography, and visual communication. Through Saturday, May 11. 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Mondays-Fridays, noon-5 p.m. Saturdays, The Gallery at UTA, Fine Arts Building. Art and Art History.

MavWire is published on Mondays and Thursdays (except for holidays) during the fall and spring semesters and on Thursdays during the summer. To submit items for possible inclusion in MavWire, email mavwire@uta.edu. Items must be received three working days before distribution. Inclusion of events and activities in MavWire does not necessarily constitute an endorsement by the University. Read the MavWire Guidelines.

MavWire welcomes any non-employees of UT Arlington who would like to subscribe.